The Hawke's Bay Expressway, known also as the Napier-Hastings Expressway, runs from
Hawke's Bay Airport
Hawke's Bay Airport , commonly referred to as Napier Airport, is Hawke's Bay's main commercial airport, serving domestic flights to the main centres of Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch as well as smaller centres such as Gisborne, Wairoa ...
, through
Napier and
Hastings
Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England,
east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...
, and ends at
Pakipaki
Pakipaki is a pā kāinga ''village'' and rural community in the Hastings District and Hawke's Bay Region of New Zealand's North Island. The village is home to many Ngāti Whatuiāpiti hapū ''tribes'' represented by their three marae of Houngar ...
, just south of Hastings, a total length of 24 km. It is part of
State Highway 2 (SH 2).
History
The first section (Kennedy Road – Pakowhai Road) opened in the late 1960s, and construction did not recommence until the late 1990s (south of Pakowhai Road). For 30 years the partially formed approaches for the Kennedy Road overbridge stood each side of the dual carriageway from Napier to
Taradale. In 2002, work began to strengthen the approaches and build the bridge: the new expressway opened through to Hawkes Bay Airport late in 2003. In 2007 the Meeanee Road interchange was built to grade separate that intersection. A new extension south of
Flaxmere
Flaxmere ( mi, Paharakeke) is a township in the Hastings District and outlying suburb of Hastings City, in the Hawke's Bay Region of New Zealand's North Island. It consists of a series of cul-de-sacs, radiating from a main street.
History
The ...
opened in 2011. The expressway remains single carriageway along its length at present, although has been designed to allow dual-carriageway upgrading. This became an electoral commitment by the
National Party in the
2017 election as part of a series of national upgrades to roads, but they were not successful at forming a Government in the post-election coalition negotiations.
In 2019, the New Zealand Transport Agency approved renumbering of the entire expressway to
SH 2. The formerly designated section of SH 2 via Napier and Hastings took a new designation of
SH 51, with effect from 1 August.
Design
The Expressway is one lane in each direction, with, heading south, roundabouts at Prebensen Drive and Taradale Road and interchanges at Kennedy Road (north off, south on) and Meeanee Road (traffic lights for many years and a notorious black spot – replaced with a grade separated interchange in 2007), and roundabouts at Pakowhai Road/Links Road (previously traffic lights), Evenden Road, Omahu Road, Flaxmere Avenue/York Road, a 5-way roundabout with Maraekakaho Road/Longlands Road/Pakipaki Road and a roundabout at its terminus with
SH 2 at Pakipaki. The expressway is entirely zoned at a 100 km/h limit.
Major intersections
See also
*
List of motorways and expressways in New Zealand
This is a list of motorways and expressways in New Zealand, including some proposed and under construction. There are currently 406 km of motorways and expressways in New Zealand. 68 km are currently under construction, with a furth ...
References
{{New Zealand motorway list
Roads in New Zealand
Transport in the Hawke's Bay Region